Q: Did my lawyer break the law?
A few days before my lawsuit trail my lawyer explained to me that he had an agreement with the defendant's lawyer. Whichever side lost would not appeal the jury decision. Our side lost; right after the jury's choice was heard I was reminded there could be no appeal.
Was that legal? Have you ever heard of such a thing? In fact, there was reason for an appeal. During the trial the witnesses unwittingly confessed that they did in fact hit my bicycle with their motor vehicle, but I could not go forward with an appeal. That was four years ago. What can I do today? I need closure.
A:
If you wanted to do anything as to the attorney your time ran two years ago (assuming the trial was four years ago). It's not unusual to have agreements like that but usually they are tied to something called a high/low where if you lose you get the minimum, if you win, you only get up to the high figure. However, if it was a jury trial also know that appeals are rarely successful, as courts of appeals don't want to second guess the juries. So while it was slopily done, for what it's worth I don't think it would make any difference.
Many jurors don't get bicycling so there could have been some bias.
However your story is one the public rarely hears, so the next time you see something in the newspapers about how easy it is to have a claim, do write a letter to the editor that it's not so easy.
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